Six Maoist rebels arrested in Jharkhand

Ranchi, Jan 27 (IANS) Six Maoist rebels including an ‘area commander’ were arrested Tuesday in Gumla district of Jharkhand, police said.According to police, four Maoist rebels were arrested from the jungle area under Palkot police station of Gumla district, 140 km from Ranchi. Acting on a tip off, police raided the hideout and arrested four rebels of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).

The arrested rebels include area commander Kamal Kharia. According to police, they were meeting to chalk out the strategy to ambush a police party in the district. Police seized two pistols and live cartridges, among other things, from the arrested rebels.

In another incident, police arrested two Maoist rebels belonging to People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) from a jungle area under Basia police station of Gumla district. The arrested PLFI rebels were identified as Kuldip Minz and Pradeep, both hardcore activists.

Police seized a pistol, live cartridges and Maoist literature from their possession.

Maoist rebels are active in 18 of the 24 districts of Jharkhand. In the last seven to eight years, more than 1,450 people have been killed in Maoist related violence.